


Dangerous Game

by Tarlan



Category: Lost Boys (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-07 10:57:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8798182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: Falling for a vampire was a dangerous game but Michael was prepared to risk his heart if it gained him forever with David.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Calacious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calacious/gifts).



> [Calacious](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Calacious) for **yuletide 2016** : I really hope you enjoy this alternate ending to the movie. Happy Yuletide!

The Frog brothers had told them no vampire died the same way as another; some screamed, some went quietly, some exploded while others imploded. The mess left behind in his grandpa's house attested to the truth of that. The bathroom and kitchen were awash with blood from the one vampire submerged into garlic and Holy Water - Paul. In the front room pieces of Dwayne lay in bloody chunks after he was shot with an arrow. The head vampire's death shook the entire house after he was impaled by a stake, covering the entire room in soot from where the fireplace exploded.

Michael was stunned into silence when he realized his grandpa had known about the vampires all along.

For once his mom didn't insist on cleaning up immediately, trudging up the stairs behind the small group, probably as shell shocked as the rest of them, though he heard her dismay when she realized they no longer had a usable bathroom. Now the fear and danger had passed everyone seemed exhausted and Michael willingly gave up his bed for Star and Laddie. He watched as Star closed her eyes, recalling how it had felt to lie down beside her, to hold her, and yet the passion that had fueled him only hours earlier seemed to have deserted him now. She was still beautiful but he no longer desired her, and he wondered if he ever had or if it had been just another vampire mind trick.

For a moment he pondered over coincidences and how easily he might have been a different kind of victim - the missing and definitely dead type of victim rather than a fledgling vampire. Star had admitted earlier that Michael was to have been her first kill, her first feed, but that was before Max set his eyes upon Michael's mother and ordered David to keep him alive.

"The Bloodsucking Brady Bunch," he murmured, recalling one of the Frog brothers calling it that after Max's chilly explanation for why he was so interested in Michael's mom.

The tune from that show began to spin inside his head and he viciously cast it aside.

Michael sank into the easy chair set just across from his bed and as the house descended into silence he found his thoughts circling back over these past few days, going over each moment in his mind as he tried to make sense of the dead feeling inside him. He should have felt alive and free, yet when he closed his eyes he saw the boardwalk with its bright, colorful lights and carnival music. He could hear the laughter and cries of pleasure amid the pops of balloons and creak of mechanical rides, and he could smell the corn dogs and popcorn, so sweet against the saltiness of the sea air, mingled with the scent of people, of perfume and sweat, of leather... and of blood.

David.

Pale blond hair and blue eyes reflecting brightly in the whirling lights of the carousel; the teasing smile that dared Michael to follow him into eternal nights. Never grow old. Never die.

Michael felt his chest clench in pain.

By his own words during that final fight David had no intention of killing him, merely toying with him, but the raw emotions within Michael had burned so bright; fear for his mother and brother, for Star and Laddie, and all the while the heady desire to ride into the eternal night with David filled him. The tangled mess of confused emotions found its outlet in anger, and now David was dead. It took Michael a moment to realize the tightness in his chest was grief rather than sympathy pains for the two deer horns piercing David's body. Only now did he remember the train tracks, hanging below the bridge as the train thundered overhead. He'd looked straight into David's laughing eyes as he heard the others let go, heard himself crying out David's name when David fell too, seeing him disappear into the bank of fog that rolled beneath them, obscuring the sheer drop below. He hadn't cried out for the others, for Paul, Dwayne and Marko, only for David and the loss of that sweet, mischievous smile.

Unable to find rest, Michael stole downstairs to his grandpa's work room, pausing on the threshold as he took in the sight of David still impaled by the deer horns. Every vampire died differently the Frog brothers had said, and David's was a peaceful death, eyes closed as if he was merely sleeping. Looking so young and innocent, so angelic he stole Michael's breath away, opening a fresh wound of grief that poured from him. He reached over just as Max had done and caressed the soft cheek and full lips with the pad of his thumb.

"I can't leave you like this," he murmured softly, and though he had only human strength now, Michael carefully pulled David from the pile of sharp animal bones, lying him on his side on the floor before grasping each horn in turn and pulling it out of David's body. Blood pooled on the floor beneath David as Michael fell back against the door frame, sliding down until he was seated with knees drawn up. David remained so still, beautiful even in death, and Michael let his own head nod and hang as exhaustion finally pulled him towards sleep only to startle awake as a harsh breeze whipped his hair into his face. He raised his tired head and blinked in confusion, taking a moment longer to realize what was missing from the scene before him.

David was gone.

****

"We should have burned the body when we had the chance," one of the Frog brothers grumbled, neither wanting to admit they were wrong in believing David was destroyed when pierced by animal bone. Perhaps the horns had missed his heart, putting him into a sort of vampire coma rather than destroying him - until they were removed by Michael.

It left everyone on edge in the days that followed, all of them wondering when David might return seeking vengeance for the death of his friends and maker. Star and Laddie were reunited with their families, both of them leaving Santa Clara forever with empty promises to keep in touch. Days turned to weeks, and Summer turned to Fall with the nights drawing in quickly. The town of Santa Clara seemed to hold its breath, becoming still as the tourists dwindled and the boardwalk emptied. School started and Michael found the normality almost too much to bear, finding refuge in books and study where he had been a less eager student in the past. He didn't seek out friendships within the new school, keeping mostly to himself. Unlike the Frog brothers and Sam, he didn't surround himself with crucifixes and Holy Water, with wooden stakes and garlic. Instead he opened his bedroom window, and waited, and hoped in vain.

Spring followed Winter, and the posters of missing people grew old and tatty, torn away by the elements. No new posters joined their tattered ranks, and the Santa Clara Mayor and Police began to take credit for the fall in the crime rate, using it as a springboard for local elections. They paraded the few successfully found among the formerly missing persons as proof of their promise to clean up the town while conveniently ignoring the many who would never be found. Michael had a feeling he knew where some of the bodies were buried but he hadn't the heart to go deeper into the collapsed hotel at the base of the cliff once he was certain David had never returned there.

Life went on.

Max had been so sure of bringing Michael's mother into his twisted 'Brady Bunch' family that he had put her name on the deeds for all his properties. Though there must have been some instructions in place if Max failed to contact his lawyer after a set time, otherwise his mom might never have known. At first she had been determined to give it all away. 

"I don't want anything to do with that... creature."

"Lucy, you deserve it for all the horror that thing put you and my grand kids through," Grandpa replied.

Eventually she relented. "I'm not keeping any of it," she warned, but changed her mind after more thought.

She sold unseen the house Max had put in her name, unwilling to step inside even though Thorn had disappeared months before. It paid for a small house of their own on the edge of town, not far from Grandpa's home, and Michael respected her wishes to have it warded against vampires. No one was invited in, and those few who did venture to the house had to cross the threshold without formal invitation just to prove to Sam and his mom that they were human and not vampire. His mother's peace of mind was worth the sidelong glances around town.

As the world turned full circle back to Summer, the boardwalk began to fill with tourists once more and Max's video store opened under new management; his mother's management. She almost renamed it 'The Videodrome' after Sam said it was a cool name from a movie that had come out a few years earlier. However, it probably wasn't the best name choice considering all they'd been through. Eventually it was simply called 'Video Land'. Michael could have looked elsewhere for a summer job but it seemed churlish not to help out in the store especially as his mother needed the money after coming out of the divorce from his father with nothing.

The first weeks of the Summer vacation passed quickly though Michael found himself constantly scanning the crowd or listening for any news of people going missing. He still wasn't sure if his desire for David was real but it hadn't diminished over the past year, gnawing at him from inside. Sometimes he thought he caught sight of pale blond hair, holding his breath as he willed the person to turn around, and every time he was disappointed, though tonight Michael had the strangest sensation he was being watched. He glanced up, looking through the open doorway onto the boardwalk but everything seemed normal with the usual bustle of the crowd; gangs of teenagers laughing and playing, families with children holding brightly balloons on sticks in one hand and sticky sweets in the other.

"Michael? Michael?" He snapped out his reverie to find his mother watching him in concern. "Are you going to be okay watching over the place by yourself?"

"I'm fine, Mom. Really. Go," he ordered, because she hadn't taken any time off in weeks; rearranging the store, ordering new stock, and serving a steady stream of customers.

He waved her off before turning his attention back to the only remaining customers, a young couple looking for something fun. Just a short while later he watched them leave, clutching a movie he hoped they'd enjoy, subconsciously scanning the crowd beyond the doorway as that sense of being watched enveloped him again. 

"You looking for me, Mikey?"

The soft, well-remembered voice came from inside the store behind him and Michael turn fast on his heel, staring at the forever young face of his own personal demon in angel disguise.

"David," he murmured warily while taking in the changes of the boy... vampire.

The 'bad boy' look was gone and though his hair was still pale it was a soft tousled blond rather than the almost white spiked mullet from before. He looked like a wholesome and nonthreatening college frat boy to anyone who didn't know his true nature, but just as beautiful in Michael's eyes. Michael watched as David walked around the video displays, picking up movies, glancing at the information on the back before replacing them as if truly interested in them, but the soft smile playing about his lips told a different story. 

David loved to play games, and Michael wasn't sure if this particular game was going to end well for him, and yet David had come to him here in this public place rather than lie in wait for him in the darkness. It had to mean something so Michael threw caution to the wind.

"You waited for her to leave," Michael stated, and the tiny shrug of a shoulder proved him right.

"I don't think your mom likes me," he replied.

"No shit."

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" David reproached mildly, and it occurred to Michael he couldn't recall hearing David swear.

David was close now, and he trailed a hand lightly over Michael as he moved on past him to the next display of movies. Michael shivered, wanting more. He ached for David's touch, feeling almost compelled to follow David and brush up behind him, playing a dangerous game of his own. David no longer smelled of leather and blood but the new scent, although a little musty, was just as intoxicating.

"Michael," David whispered a little hoarsely, and it took all of Michael's control to take a step back. He put a little distance between them, and it struck him as strange when he saw David pick up a John Wayne Western and stare at it with true interest. He knew nothing about vampires beyond popular lore... and his own brush with them; with David.

"Were you alive then?" he blurted out, even though it seemed highly unlikely.

David blinked as if surprised by the question. He huffed out a laugh.

"No."

"When?"

David leaned back against the end of one stand of movies, still smiling, still holding onto the Western. "I was still human when my father took me to New York's controversial World Fair." He paused a moment, eyes narrowing slightly to see Michael got the reference, giving Michael a wry smile when he shrugged blankly. "The summer of 1964. I was eleven years old." He smiled sadly. "Nine years later I was turned by Max."

Michael frowned in confusion. "Wait! That makes you over thirty years old."

"Thirty years is nothing to a vampire, Mikey. Never grow old. Never..." He paused, and Michael saw a glint of tears in his eyes. "Hmm. One thing I learned this last year is even vampires can die. Call it a rude awakening but this lost boy finally grew up."

Michael understood the reference because Max had used the same one on his mom, wanting her to be the Wendy to his Peter Pan; a mother to his Lost Boys, to David and the others. David was over thirty in human years, so not exactly a boy the same age as Michael. It should have been a turn off but instead he felt an even greater pull towards David; an illicit thrill he could no longer deny.

"I'm not sorry for what happened to the others," he stated harshly and saw David flinch. "So are you here for revenge?"

David laughed but it was without humor. "Yes. No." He sighed. "I don't know why I came back."

Except Michael knew that was a lie, seeing it in the way David darted his eyes towards him and away. Someone entered the store before Michael could accuse him of lying and when he looked back David had gone.

A full week passed and at times Michael could swear he felt someone watching him, hoping it was David. He expected to hear rumors of people going missing again, as they had over the past few summers but no posters appeared on the old billboards and no new faces adorned the packaging of milk cartons. If David was feeding in Santa Clara then he was choosing his victims carefully. His mother had noticed his preoccupation but he had no intention of telling her David was back in Santa Clara. She'd been through enough.

When Sam phoned up needing their mother, Michael offered to close up alone at the end of the night. The lights on the fairground rides switched off as he locked the door leaving only the few lamps lining the boardwalk. Once he got to where he'd parked his bike only the moon lit his way. He straddled the bike and kick-started the engine, flipping on the headlight and pulling away only to realize another bike had joined him from out of nowhere. A glance across had his heart racing as David smiled at him. Michael recalled another time and a question, ' _how far are you willing to go?_ '

When David turned right out of the car park Michael had a choice to go left and head straight home but instead he followed David, feeling the exhilaration as they rode faster, heading towards the cliff top but this time David slowed as they neared the edge, coming to a stop and cutting the engine of his bike. He didn't move a muscle as Michael glided to a stop beside him. They parked the bikes and sat on the grass in silence for a long time, staring out across the moonlit sea.

"Come with me and you'll never grow old, Michael."

"Never grow old. Never die. But you must feed," he replied with David's own words from a year earlier. "I can't do that. I can't kill." He turned to face David seeing him in profile. "I won't kill."

David sighed and turned towards him. "You don't have to become a killer, Michael. Max tried to teach me that but I wouldn't listen." he looked away towards the cliff where the cave was nestled close to the base. "My mistake, and the others paid heavily for it. The little drink is enough."

"Then why-?"

"Because I was young and I thought we were invincible. Max warned me and tried to stop us, even going so far as hoping a 'mother' might curb our... my destructive qualities, but we didn't listen. I didn't listen. I turned others using Max's blood against his wishes - Paul, Marko, Dwayne... Star and Laddie. I brought retribution upon us all," he added quietly before looking to Michael. "If it hadn't been you then it would have been another vampire who staked us because we'd drawn too much attention. We'd endangered others of our kind, threatening exposure." He laughed. "And they would have considered Laddie an abomination... forever trapped in a child's body. As I said, this lost boy finally grew up."

It explained why Michael hadn't seen any references to missing people or strange deaths since David showed back up in town. Also, he noticed he wasn't on the list of those turned without Max's consent, proving he had been a target because of Max's interest in Michael's mother. In some respects that made him feel disappointed. David hadn't chosen him then, but he was choosing him now.

"Why now? Why me, David?"

"You really need to ask?"

He barely perceived David moving before cool hands were cradling his face and cold lips pressing against his, urgent and demanding, and Michael gave in willingly as he reached back to pull David even closer. Perhaps later he might consider blaming his reaction on the rampant hormones of youth or even being under the thrall of a vampire but that would be a lie. David had been on his mind since they first day they met and now, in this moment, all he could think of was David - his touch, his scent, and the possibility of holding onto him forever. He felt the cool night air on his skin as they stripped, arching up into David's expert touch as they kissed, achingly hard as he tasted his own blood in his mouth from where David nipped at his lips. He heard David moan, watching him arch back as they thrust against each other, soaring higher until ecstasy lifted him away completely.

When he came back to earth David was trembling in his arms, just as replete, and Michael watched as he reached up and sliced into his own skin with a sharp nail.

"Drink from me, Michael. Stay with me."

This time there was no pretense, no mind tricks, no games. This time he knew he was being offered blood, David's blood, and Michael wanted it, leaning in to lap at the fat droplets welling from the cut. This time he knew he would feed, bidding goodbye to the sun as the night became his new day.

***

**Forty-Two Years Later:**

Michael had watched over his mom through the years, talking to her on the phone every Thanksgiving, and leaving her small gifts at other times so she knew he still lived. She'd forgiven him decades before, always begging him to come home but he'd stayed away deliberately until now. It was dangerous but he waited until everyone had vacated her hospital room before he entered and took a seat beside her, picking up her frail hand with its paper-thin, liver-spotted skin. Gone was the vibrant woman he recalled from those days when he was still human, and he could feel death lingering in the room, just biding its time in the final days of her life.

"Mom?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him, smiling when she recognized his face. "Michael."

He leaned over and kissed her seamed cheek.

"Are you happy?" She asked the same question every time he called on Thanksgiving and he always gave her the same truthful answer.

"Yes, mom. I'm happy." He glanced behind him and David stepped out of the shadows, nodding solemnly towards Michael's mother.

Her blue eyes took on a steely gaze. "You look after my son."

"Always. I promise," David replied, and the sincerity in his voice must have been enough to convince her for she relaxed back into the pillows, smiling as she took her last breath, as if she had been holding on just for him.

The alarm sounded and Michael knew he had only seconds before medical personnel reached the room. Ignoring the tears running down his face Michael stood and leaned over her, kissing her forehead one last time before he and David raced off into the night.

Always wasn't forever, but Michael knew he and David would be together for as long as they both lived. Never growing old. Bound by blood, and more importantly by love.

END  
 


End file.
